At Light Way service-learning projects are a required part of our curriculum.
Through service-learning projects the need to acquire life and academic skills
becomes essential in order to succeed. Based on the needs of the current
projects, small and large group direct instruction is designed to meet those
needs. Throughout learners will be exposed to project planning fundamentals
including organizing and breaking down projects into activities and tasks that
are completed in a specific time period. Students build a calendar of projects
and events to practice executive functioning skills, task completion and time
management.

What is Service-Learning?

Service-learning is the marriage of community service and academic learning. At
Light Way it is a method of empowering youth to change their world and acquire
academic skills in real world tasks. Projects picked by children are planned,
implemented and evaluated with the aid of lead learners.

Small and large group direct instruction is designed based on the needs of each
project. The projects naturally lend themselves to learning in all academic
areas. In addition, learners acquire project planning fundamentals including
organizing and breaking down projects into activities and tasks that are
completed in a specific time period. Learners practice executive functioning
skills, task completion and time management.

At Light Way service-learning
projects are a required part of our curriculum at the earliest ages. Through
these projects the need to acquire personal and academic skills becomes
essential in order to succeed. The learning then becomes relevant and
interesting to children.

Why Service-Learning?

At Light Way we value the
contributions youth can make to their ever-changing world and to the change
itself. We believe many children are here to teach us as much, if not more than
we teach them. Service-learning is a way to support them in creating their
"Dream of a Better World." Academically it is a powerful tool for
making learning relevant to immediate needs, wants and desires. Relevancy is a
huge challenge for the modern education system.

The Benefits of Service Learning

Strong student engagement in service-learning
programs with

Clear goals for authentic real world tasks
that meet genuine community needs

Student and adult reflection and

High student voice in a shared decision-making
process

Tends to lead to significant increases in

Self-efficacy and awareness,

Interest in school,

Civic engagement,

Attendance,

Reducing episodes of misbehavior.

These results seem to be
especially strong for disadvantaged learners.

More Definitions

Service learning has been defined in many ways.

As a philosophy:

1.
It
embraces young people as a community resource and asset viewing all people in a
democratic society as citizens capable of contributing regardless of age
(Kielsmeier, Scales, & Roehlkepartain, 2003).

2.
It can
also be seen as a way to reinvigorate the central role that schools can play in
developing responsible, caring citizens who deeply understand democracy and the
meaning of civic responsibility (Yates & Youniss 1996).

As a teaching and learning
method, service-learning is

1.
A form of
active learning that values critical thinking and problem-solving

2.
As a
teaching tool it is often cited as a powerful, active method of cooperative
teaching and learning with full integration and alignment with curriculum
standards (Cairn, 1992; Kielsmeier, 2003).

3.
It can
also be seen as a response to the traditional methods of education that seem
irrelevant to the true education of youth (Butin, 2003).

Elements of Effective Service Learning Projects

The 3 C's: Capacity, Connection, and Commitment

The Light Way "A Dream of a Better World" program includes elements
designed to increase capacity, connection and commitment shown to be
factors of quality service-learning programs (Service Learning and Citizenship:
Directions for Research - Kahne & Westheimer, 2003).

Capacity
Capacity is built through:

1.
Experienced
lead learners with a true passion for helping youth facilitate the service
learning.

2.
Clear
Educational Goals: Setting educational goals is achieved through the process of
developing the service projects and lead learners guiding learners to make the
connections between their academics and the projects. Also the development of
mini lessons around the skills nee ded to complete the projects. For example,
if learners need to write a business letter, lead learners will teach the
format for business letters. In this way instructional goals are stated and met
in a natural way throughout the project.

3.
Cognitively
Challenging Tasks: The setting of a cognitively challenging task is inherent in
the project. Learners must conceive of, plan for and carry out an idea that
will lead to some measurable or observable change in their community. Learners
will also design their own

Program evaluation to test the
effectiveness of their projects in achieving set goals.

Formative and Summative Assessment Strategies:
Formative (continuous) assessment will be performed throughout using

Learner self talk

Reflection to help learners assess for
themselves the alignment of their activities with their goals.

Group sharing. All learners will gather and
report back to each other sharing ideas and input.

Written reflection will also be completed by
each learner. Learners will choose between reflecting on their own work
and writing a constructive critique of the work of another student or
group project.

Training on how to be constructive in
critiquing others will be provided by lead learners through role play.

Summative assessment is based on
self-assessment by learners to determine whether they have achieved their
goals and how they might

Implement differently if they were to engage
in another project of this type.

Student Preparation for Service Work:
Preparation and training will consist of guiding learners through the
process of designing, implementing and evaluating a service-learning
project.

Building Self-Awareness and Self-Efficacy: The
elements included developing self-efficacy and self-awareness is

Learner choice of project

Learner determination of how to implement the
project, and

Permission for learners to fail. An important
factor in building student efficacy through this process is to allow students
to fail. A lead learner may know better how to achieve a particular
objective; however, the learner must be free to explore ideas and to fall
occasionally. It is only through falling that we learn to get back up
again. Truly, in this model failure does not exist, there is only finding
another way. Once learners discover this truth, they are encouraged to
take risks and feel more capable even when faced with failure.

Mini-lessons developed by lead learners. For
example, one mini lesson is designed to show learners the power they have
to choose their emotions in any moment of now. Learners must first become
aware of their emotions and what is causing them in order to choose a
different one.

Connections
Connections are built through

Engagement in service tasks with clear goals that meet authentic community
needs,

Communication, interaction, partnerships, and collaboration with the community.

A community liaison officer organizes the integration of community and parents.
The officer will find speakers whose skills and knowledge fit project needs and
arrange for them to visit our program and interact with students. The officer
will also design and implement a program for parent involvement to include
setting up a volunteer program and involving parents in setting up program
celebrations of achievement.

Commitment
Commitment is developed through

KidPower(TM) sociocratic circle
governance modeled after the Lederwijs Schools in Sweden. All decisions
are made based on group consensus.

Empowering youth voice in selecting,
designing, implementing and evaluating the service program and celebration
and acknowledgement of work. The learners are fully empowered to determine
the needs of their community and pick a service project they would like to
initiate.